Feeding San Diego announces expansion of Feeding East County rural hunger initiative during COVID-19 crisis
Feeding San Diego today announced it will launch a weekly drive-through food distribution in Ramona, it is increasing food supplied at its ten Feeding East County rural mobile pantry distributions and it is adding two additional special distributions on Monday, March 30 in Campo and Jacumba to meet rising demand. The organization will continue to increase the supply as needed to meet the fast-growing need in San Diego’s mountain and desert regions during the coronavirus pandemic.
“From Borrego Springs to Potrero, hunger is a serious issue in our rural east county,” said Vince Hall, CEO of Feeding San Diego. “The COVID-19 crisis has worsened an already serious problem by increasing food insecurity for communities that lack access to affordable groceries. Our Feeding East County initiative has been serving these communities for years and is growing rapidly during this time of crisis.”
Through the Feeding East County initiative, Feeding San Diego provides free, twice-monthly farmer’s market style distributions in neighborhoods that have a high incidence of poverty and limited access to food. During the COVID-19 outbreak, an additional supply of food at these critical distributions will help residents in rural areas to access the nutrition they need to endure the unprecedented crisis.
The new distribution in Ramona will offer east county families safe and convenient drive-through access to food with no questions asked. First Congregational Church of Ramona (404 8th St, Ramona, CA, 92065) will be hosting the distribution every Friday at 1:30 PM, beginning March 27.
“Feeding San Diego is stepping up during this time of crisis and providing a critical opportunity for east county residents in need,” said District 2 Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “It’s a much-needed and much- appreciated helping hand for our rural families.”
“I want to thank Feeding San Diego for serving the people of Borrego Springs during this crisis and all year round,” said District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond.
The bimonthly distributions are free, open to anyone in need, and no paperwork is required. The schedule of distributions is as follows:
| Alpine | First Baptist Church of Alpine | 1st and 3rd Wednesday | 9:00 to 10:00 AM | 1912 Arnold Way Alpine, CA 91901 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borrego Springs | Borrego Springs Catholic Church | 1st and 3rd Monday | 10:00 to 11:00 AM | 611 Church Lane Borrego Springs, CA 92004 |
| Boulevard | 1st and 3rd Monday | 9:30 to 10:30 AM | 39605 Old Highway 80 Boulevard, CA 91905 |
|
| Campo | Mountain Health & Community Services | 2nd and 4th Monday (plus 3/30) | 12:00 to 1:00 PM | 976 Sheridan Road Campo, CA 91906 |
| Descanso | Descanso Branch Library | 1st and 3rd Thursday | 9:00 to 10:00 AM | 9545 River Drive Descanso, CA 91916 |
| Guatay | Guatay Christian Fellowship | 2nd and 4th Thursday | 10:00 to 11:00 AM | 27521 Old Highway 80 Guatay, CA 91931 |
| Jacumba | 2nd and 4th Monday (plus 3/30) | 9:00 to 10:00 AM | 44600 Old Highway 80 Jacumba, CA 91934 |
|
| Julian | Julian Library | 2nd and 4th Wednesday | 9:30 to 10:30 AM | 1850 California 78 Julian, CA 92036 |
| Potrero | 1st and 3rd Thursday | 12:00 to 1:00 PM | 24954 Potrero Valley Road Potrero, CA 91963 |
|
| Shelter Valley | 2nd and 4th Wednesday | 12:00 to 1:00 PM | 7217 Great Southern Overland Trail Julian, CA 92036 |
Over half of the food provided at these distributions is healthy, fresh produce. Families are asked to bring their own shopping bags or carts.
In addition to the Feeding East County distributions, Feeding San Diego offers food assistance at sites throughout San Diego County. Additional community resources are accessible by calling 2-1-1 or visiting 211sandiego.org. For more information on Feeding San Diego’s coronavirus response, go to feedingsandiego.org/coronavirus.
